This invention is directed to a semiconductor temperature compensation circuit for use in an electronic timepiece and, in particular, to a semiconductor temperature compensation circuit comprised of semiconductor elements that are each integrated into the same monolithic substrate and produce a temperature compensation signal that can be utilized to effect adjustment of the timing rate of an electronic timepiece.
Electronic timepieces and, in particular, small-sized electronic wristwatches utilize a high frequency time standard to establish a very accurate timing rate. One commonly utilized time standard is flexural mode tuning fork quartz crystal vibrators having a resonant frequency on the order of 32.768 KHz. It is noted, however, that one disadvantage of quartz crystal vibrators is that the temperature characteristics thereof vary in response to temperature changes and aging.
Heretofore, these changes in frequency as a result of temperature, aging and the like have been compensated for in different ways. For example, one approach is to utilize a capacitor having a temperature compensation characteristic in the oscillator circuit utilized in combination with the quartz crystal vibrator. Another approach is to utilize two quartz crystal vibrators vibrating at distinct frequencies in order to compensate for changes in temperature. These approaches have not yielded sufficiently high accuracy due to the stability of the vibrator, the considerable expense in achieving such temperature compensation and in the large number of components required to achieve such temperature compensation. Accordingly, a temperature compensation circuit for use in an electronic wristwatch that avoids the above noted disadvantages is desired.